The Pool Guy’s favorite product for iron removal in swimming pools is FerriTabs!

FerriTabs have been around since the pool guy got his start in the business, which means FerriTabs have been on the market for a really, really long time. He’s in the middle of his 26th pool season. Not bad for such a young looking guy, right?

Ask the Pool Guy, Allan Curtis, had years of supplying the Ferri-Iron Tablets to customers in his Farmington Hills, MI store. Here in Michigan, we have some of the hardest water in the country – and large concentrations of iron in the water. This turns pools filled with ground water either an orange rust color, or in a lot of cases it’s green. Homeowners have experienced stains in their gunite pools, and on fiberglass steps. Vinyl liners are also prone to orange staining. The stains are caused when the iron comes out of solution and attaches itself to the surface of the pool.

Luckily, for pool owners, the FerriTabs product works wonders in swimming pools, both in-ground pools and above ground pools. The tablets are formulated to be added directly to the pool – they can be dropped into the skimmer, or directly into the pool. These work when the pool is first filling, or even after iron rich water has been circulating for some time. They work best in pools with sand filters, and there is also a formula available for DE filters. The tablets will also work in cartridge filters, though our best advice is to be ready to replace your cartridge soon after using FerriTabs – as they work so efficiently getting the iron out of the pool it will clog up your filter and result in needing a thorough cleaning, or if you are using small cartridges in a small above ground pool system, replacing the cartridge may be best.

The formula in the FerriTabs is safe to handle, non-toxic, and gets the job done quickly. In some of the worst pools we have seen, where the water is very green, so you can barely see the bottom of the pool, the FerriTabs were added (1 tablet per 3,000 gallons of water), and the filter was run continuously 24/7, backwashing after about 12-24 hours depending on the severity of the iron. It might take a single application, or multiple applications over a span of a few days to see results – but you will see a huge difference in the pool water. The tablets allow the iron particles to come out of solution and be trapped in the filter, removing the residual iron through the filtration process. So it will take the iron right out of the water before it has a chance to stain your surfaces.

If you do have some staining already, don’t worry. You can also treat the pool with FerriTabs, and use it in combination with a stain removing product, such as Natural Chemistry’s StainFree – which lifts the iron staining right off of fiberglass steps. Once you’ve treated the stain, you must re-treat with FerriTabs to remove the iron completely from the water. Once you’ve done this you can return to your regular maintenance schedule and enjoy your iron free, rust free, stain free pool!

If you’d like to order FerriTabs just click here to browse the selection in the Ask the Pool Guy store. If you are not sure what you need, please ask. We are happy to help!

Here are a few of our before and after photos (thank you to our customers who have sent them in!)